1,000 Solar Kiosks for Freetown

Airtel mobile company has started installing some 1,000 solar powered kiosks across Freetown as part of a new one year initiative to include all segments of society in the telecom business, disclosed Managing Director Sudipto Chowdery while opening the modern Airtel Express and Customer Service Centre last weekend.

Chowdery said the 1,000 kiosks would provide free charging facility to any person interested in boosting entrepreneurship, including people with disability, street hawkers who don’t have a place to sell or anybody who has an innovative business concept.

He called on women business people in particular to take aantage of the new kiosks as begging would not take the country anywhere.

At present, most small dealers of GSM and telecom products are finding it very hard to operate their businesses due to lack of adequate space to do business.

The new solar kiosks are designed with a facility for charging mobile phones and protecting items belonging to the owner, and its distribution is already underway in some areas, said the Airtel MD.

President of the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues, Kabbah Franklyn Bangura, praised Airtel for the initiative and promised to obtain few kiosks for unemployed disabled persons nationwide.

Bangura called on other corporate institutions in the country to emulate the new entrepreneurship venture by Airtel.